Call for Papers: Second All Art and Cultural Heritage Law Conference

The Art-Law Centre of the University of Geneva has issued a call for papers for the second All Art and Cultural Heritage Law conference, to be held June 24, 2016, at the University of Geneva. Here's the call:

This conference will host two panels: ‘Cultural Heritage in the Crossfire: Reality and Effectiveness of Protection Efforts’ and ‘Art and Cultural Heritage: What Is the Role for Ethics?’. The aim of the conference is to take stock of, and to further contribute to the recent discussions regarding the protection of cultural heritage from damage and the role of ethics in the art world. In particular, the Art-Law Centre is interested in papers pursuing normative, empirical, comparative or theoretical approaches. We welcome contributions from law and other disciplines, including philosophy, criminology, archaeology and history.

The panel ‘Cultural Heritage in the Crossfire: Reality and Effectiveness of Protection Efforts’ shall focus on the protection of cultural heritage from damage arising not only from war-like situations and intentional attacks, but also from non-violent processes, such as the realization of development projects and natural calamities. Therefore papers are requested on, but not limited to, the following topics: cultural genocide; State responsibility; individual criminal responsibility; the role of the International Criminal Court; illicit trafficking and money laundering; the protection of cultural heritage from acts of terrorism; the safeguarding of cultural heritage from natural and human-induced disasters.

The panel ‘Art and Cultural Heritage: What Is the Role for Ethics?’ shall discuss art and cultural heritage issues which cannot be solved, in whole or in part, by legal rules, and analyse the value of soft law in this regard. Subjects covered in papers may include, but are not limited to: the responsibilities of cultural institutions; the legal relevance of ethics; restitution; restoration and conservation; heritage as a common good; sponsorship; governance of cultural institutions; cultural heritage and human rights; stewardship; cultural heritage in the digital age; the challenges posed by the evolving definition of cultural heritage.

Academics and practitioners from all regions of the world are invited to submit papers approaching these themes from various angles with the aim to (a) develop new conceptualizations, (b) engage in a cross-disciplinary debate, or (c) identify new directions for education and research.

Paper proposals should include a title, an abstract no longer than 300 words, and should be accompanied by a short biography and full contact details of the author, including institutional affiliation, mailing address and e-mail address. In the case of co-authored papers, one person should be identified as the corresponding author. Due to restrictions of space on the conference schedule, multiple submissions by the same author are not accepted.

Paper proposals should be emailed to the Art-Law Centre’s team at art-adr@unige.ch by 29 February 2016. Successful applicants will be notified by 14 March 2016, and would be required to submit a summary of their presentation by 23 May 2016.

The Conference will take place at the University of Geneva. Speakers will be required to meet the cost of travel and accommodation.

All participants are expected to contribute with an original and unpublished article to an edited publication that will form the intended output of this workshop. The deadline for the submission of the papers is 30 September 2016.